LegalOn Technologies raises $50 million to advance AI in legal work

In Japan, LegalOn Technologies, an AI startup focusing on legal processes, successfully raised $50 million in a Series E funding round. The round, announced on Thursday, was led by Goldman Sachs' growth equity team and included contributions from various other investors, including World Innovation Lab, the Japanese law firm Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, Mizuho Bank, and Shoko Chukin Bank, bringing the total funding raised by the company to $200 million. Founded in 2017 by former lawyers from Mori Hamada, the startup targets inefficiencies in contract reviews using an AI-powered tool that identifies legal risks and suggests improvements based on attorney-drafted guidelines. The tool significantly minimizes the traditionally lengthy contract review process, claiming efficiency improvements of up to 85%. Currently, it has garnered utilization from over 7,000 companies and also offers contract request tracking functionalities across platforms like Slack and email. The new funding will primarily be channeled into developing advanced AI products and expanding its market presence, particularly in the U.S. and U.K. Additionally, LegalOn announced a strategic partnership with OpenAI, aiming to integrate its legal expertise with the enterprise version of ChatGPT. This collaboration aims to enhance corporate legal workflows through the combined force of proprietary legal data and advanced AI capabilities. Tsunoda, co-founder and Group CEO of LegalOn, emphasized the company’s mission to aid legal teams in speeding up processes while minimizing risks and increasing overall business impact. This partnership positions LegalOn at the forefront of innovation in legal technology, which is still encumbered by traditional methods of paperwork and manual contract handling, giving them an edge over competitors in the evolving legal tech landscape.